Bonds are Eeveeternal
by Slaezzior
Summary: A boy and his best friend, an Eevee, have their happy life turned upside down. His Eevee pal gets taken away and he will do everything he can to find her. Join him on his quest full of adventure, laughs, tragedy, and a whole lot of fourth-wall breaking.
1. My Special Friend

**Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fanfiction. Pokémon is the property of GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not own anything here except for my OCs. I would appreciate it if you didn't sue me.**

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 **Prologue**

Life is never simple. Full of ups and downs, good days and bad days. The one thing predictable about it is its unpredictability. There come times when all seems lost, hope nowhere to be found, the light at the end of the tunnel long since disappeared. During these tough times there is only one thing that we can still rely on. Our friends.

Friends come in all shapes and forms, as different as snowflakes that fall from the sky, can be found anywhere. But one thing they share in common, friends will always be there for you. Hold them close, for one day you may depend on them.

 **Chapter 1: My special friend.**

I cautiously peered down below, from my hiding spot up in the hollow of a tree. I had been careful with choosing my footing, avoiding the softer mud as to not leave any tracks. The wind was also blowing in the same direction that I had run from, so less chances of my scent being tracked. But despite all the precautions I had taken, my gut feeling told me I would be found. I always got found, no matter what changes I implemented.

A rustling in the nearby bushes made me back up into my hidey hole. I held my breath as I gazed from the shadows ... before a Rattata scampered out in a hurry.

I allowed myself to exhale in relief. False alarm. I loosened myself, my muscles were so tense from the anticipation. But just as I was about to squat down, I felt a rush of air to my right side which impacted me.

Ouff. I was knocked right out of the tree and onto the ground. I pushed up with my arm into a sitting position, and threw a glare at my _attacker_. I was met with a familiar brown furry face smiling up at me.

"Eievui!"

I grinned back, giving my best friend an affectionate rub on the head. "Well done Scoot. You found me in record time!"

The Eevee beamed at the compliment, her smile growing wider. I looked back at the tree I had tumbled from. Ah, I see. Scoot had caught me off guard by scaling the tree and launching at me from a higher branch. Who knew Eevees could climb?

"I think that's all the time we have for today," I said, getting back up. "But just you wait. One of these days I'll win."

"Eievui," Scoot replied, cheekily sticking out her tongue.

"Hmph," I smirked back. "Well there's a first time for everything."

We headed back the way we came, departing from the forest where we regularly played. The trees began to thin, a tell tale sign we were reaching civilisation. Soon enough, familiar buildings emerged in the distance. We were back in Viridian City.

"Hey Zach!" I turned to see a girl with shoulder length red hair, slightly shorter than me, and dressed in a pink blouse, and a white skirt. "And hello Scoot." She bent down to pet my Eevee on the head, who was clearly enjoying the attention.

"Hi Ivy!" This was my best friend Ivy, who I had known for as long as I can remember. "How was your day?" We started walking back to the city as we talked.

"Boring as per usual," she said with a half-hearted grin, "nothing much for me in this city." Ah, that's right. Ivy longed to be a Pokémon Trainer and explore the land. However, she kept getting held back from pursuing her dreams due complications in her life.

"You know most would say "Hang in there" or "You'll get your chance someday", but I'm not most people. If you got a dream, you got to make it happen. You got to go pick those peaches while they're ripe for the taking, before someone snags them and leaves all the rotten ones."

Ivy had been listening intently. She had a look on her face that seemed part amused, part enlightened, and part... something else. "Since when did you sign up for motivational speech classes?" she teased.

"Spur of the moment. I said what I felt you needed to hear."

"Well then, Mr. Inspirational," Ivy said walking ahead of me, before turning around so she was walking backwards, "it's been a while since we've done something fun. Want to hang out, say tomorrow?"

"Sure," I said nonchalantly, "what do you have in mind? Do you want to go catch a movie?"

"Hmm, I was thinking something a little more..." Ivy stopped and closed the gap between us, "...experimental." She finished, before poking me on the nose.

Umm, okay? "So you want to try something new?" I asked, not sure where this was going. "I guess we could go shopping, I'll have to try it at some point in my life. Or we could head down to Pewter City to... umm, look at rocks?"

Ivy giggled. "Oh Zach, you can be so thick sometimes", giving me a tap on the noggin. She glanced down as Scott snickered. "Your Eevee seems to get my drift, perhaps she can help you put two and two together."

I glared at Scoot, "Whose side are you on anyway?" The Eevee just sat there giving me the innocent puppy... umm, Eevee eyes. Ugh, those eyes, those pathetically, adorable eyes. I swear I could see flowers and love hearts wafting off her as she gave me that look. Just can't stay annoyed at that sickeningly sweet look. I gave in to her cuteness powers and petted her. Scoot purred contently, having won again.

"Aww, you two are so adorable." Ivy remarked, with her both hands pressed against one of her cheeks. "Anyway, meet me at the ice cream store. Say at 3 in the afternoon?"

"Sure, I'll be there," I stood back up, "Just make sure you're not late again." I said jabbing at her infamous tardiness, determined to make it even.

"I'm wherever I'm needed," Ivy smirked at boldness, "And my Ivy sense tells me, you'll need me soon." Before I could think of a remark to that, Ivy sprinted off. I watched her receding figure before she disappeared over the hill. Man, I just can't read that girl sometimes.

"I think we should be going too Scoot." I said turning to the Eevee, only to find she wasn't there at my feet.

"Scoot?" I looked around to see she had walked ahead of me. "Hey wait up you troublesome Eevee!" I began sprinting after her, desperate to keep up with the Eevee.

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 **AN: This looks like a good place to leave it. This chapter is just to set the scene and introduce the characters, especially showing just how close Zach and Scoot are. We'll get to the more exciting stuff very shortly. Hope you guys like what you see so far. I appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism.**

 **Though I generally don't respond to reviews in my fanfic, as I feel they make it messy and the chapter overly long. I will only address it in the story if it's a FAQ or if the review led me to make a change in the story. For all other questions I'll PM you if necessary.**


	2. Separated

**I'm back with another update. Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited my story and for the reviews I got.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. It belongs to GameFreak and Nintendo. Please don't sue.**

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 **Chapter 2: Separated**

Ah crud. I had lost sight of Scoot after she ducked around a corner. I was just mere seconds behind her, but once I got there she was nowhere to be found. I began combing each and every street to find her.

This one? No. Here? No. This street? No. C'mon please? No. No. No. NO! ARRGH! Where could my Eevee have gone? I bent over to catch my breath. Time had taken the liberty of zipping ahead while I was preoccupied, it was already nightfall and still no sign of her. I felt as though I had torn the city apart looking for her. I didn't want to stop, wanted to keep going, but I felt sore all over. Reluctantly I decided to call it a night and head home.

On my way back, I still kept my eyes peeled for any flashes of brown fur and my ears listening out for distinctive Eevee sounds. Reaching my house, I was really hoping Scoot had found her way home. As I unlocked the front door I held my breath. The whole house was deathly quiet, as if waiting for me to act. Finally finding the light switch in the dark I flicked it, illuminating an empty hallway.

"Scoot?" I called. No response. Quickly ducking into all the rooms, it became clear she wasn't present. There was a flap installed on the backdoor that she could go through. Before you ask, my parents were away. They were out on a month long business trip, leaving me and Scoot alone in the house. Not that I minded. We liked having the house to ourselves. But with them gone, it became more evident how lonely I now was.

Heading into the lounge, I kicked off my shoes and collapsed onto the couch. Before succumbing to sleep, I set my phone's alarm to go off in 5 hours and placed it on the coffee table. I'd be up bright and early to continue the hunt.

I must have fallen asleep immediately, as it felt like mere seconds that the alarm went off. I groaned, just five more minutes. I fumbled for the irritating noise maker, only to accidentally knock it onto the floor. Arceus dammit!

I gave up and slid off the couch. I'm not a morning person. I'm nocturnal and function best at night. That'd probably explain how I could last so long the night before. Oh that's right! Scoot! Rushing into the bathroom to splash water on my face, shoving a piece of bread in my mouth, I bolted out of the house to continue my search.

Having had a night to ponder over it, it dawned on me that I had been going about this the wrong way. Maybe someone had found Scoot and had taken her in. Perhaps a stray Eevee had been reported? Should I go to Pokémon Control and ask if an Eevee had been turned in?

But then my mind turned to a bleaker possibility. What if...? Oh no. Oh Arceus, please no! Could Scoot have been kidnapped? Now that I think about it, it was like Scoot just vanished into thin air without a trace. If someone had found her, you'd think they would have waited around for the owner. But if Scoot was taken against her will, she'd be whisked out of sight as quickly as possible.

I rushed back to where I had first lost Scoot. Now that daylight had made itself available, I could take a good look at the area. The street was an industrial area, full of shops and factories, but no residential houses. Well that sure makes Scoot getting taken into some person's house even less likely.

If Scoot was taken against her will in such a short time span, there had to be some sort of clue left behind. Alrighty then, time to channel my inner Sherlock Holmes! Wait, does he even exist in this universe? Darn it. Focus! Focus! Search for clues! *clears throat* I bent down and examined the ground. I saw black streaks on the ground. Were these skid marks? The fact that they were here at all, suggested whatever vehicle left them had sped off quickly. They also seemed to start very close to the corner where I had lost sight of her. Hmm, could Scoot have dashed into an open van and the doors shut on her? I gazed in the direction where the tracks headed off.

Well at least it's a lead. Better than me blundering around the city like a headless Torchic. Huh, I wonder if a Torchic could survive without its head. On second thought, let's not go there. Anyway, the skid marks ended quite abruptly, but gave me a good idea of where they were headed. But I need more to go on, at least a vague idea on what it looked like. Any security cameras? Nope. Meh, guess that would be too convenient. Okay, maybe I could just ask around.

Following several unsuccessful attempts at getting information from the store people, I entered the one opposite the street. It was an ice cream place. Not too many customers at this time of day. Making my way to the counter, I was greeted with a bubbly blonde girl either eager to sell me ice cream or drain my wallet. After enduring the recital of her sales pitch I was finally able to get a word in that I wasn't there to buy an ice cream. She didn't seem too pleased, but I did get my questions through.

"So were you working here yesterday afternoon?" I asked.

"Indeed," she answered, "I cover this shift for all the weekdays."

"Okay," I said, my hope rising. "You wouldn't have happened to see anything odd out there lately?" I gestured to the window.

"You'll have to be more specific than that hun," she answered, "we've a lot of weird stuff happening in Viridian. There was the Team Rocket big cheese running the gym with some Pokémon made in the lab, before some kid wearing a cap disbanded them."

"Is that the anime or the games? These continuities are so confusing." I wondered.

"You were saying about what I should have seen out there?" the ice cream girl said, not registering my remark.

"Ah right. Well yesterday at around 5 in the afternoon, did you see any..." my hands started circling in the air as I thought of an adjective. "...dodgy looking vans out there? Specifically one that an Eevee ran into?"

She turned her head to the side thinking. "We do have that delivery van stopping out there at the same time each day. I never gave it much thought, but once or twice there are men loading cages onto the van."

"Did you see an Eevee get onto the truck?" I repeated.

"I can't be certain, but I did see a furry Pokémon hop into the back. I thought it belonged to the delivery guys but it could very well be yours."

"Thank you, you have been a huge help. I am truly grateful." I said. At last glad I had something to go on.

"Grateful enough to buy an ice cream?" she persisted.

I snorted in amusement. "I'm a little low on time right now, but once I'm back I'll get an extra large helping." I turned to leave, nearly bumping into the person behind me.

"Well you're certainly here early." A familiar voice said.

"Ivy! What are you doing here?" Did anyone else predict this chance encounter? I sure as hell didn't.

"Well we agreed to meet up here, remember?" she replied.

"That was here?" I asked, looking around at the place. I tried not to imagine what stupid look I had on my face.

"Indeed," Ivy giggled, "though it isn't for another 2 hours. I got to leave Pokémon School early since it's the last day of term." Pokémon School was one of the reasons why Ivy was held back from being a trainer.

"But what happened to you Zach?" she asked, her voice turning serious. "You look as though you got sat on by Snorlax."

"Excuse me?" Okay that was hurtful. I know I've been up all night and barely had any sleep, but I couldn't look that bad.

Ivy took out a hand mirror (since all girls seem to conveniently carry them), and held it out for me to look. Holy Mother of Arceus! It was that bad. My black mid-length hair was greasy and sticking up all over the place, my eyes had bags underneath them. Dried up sweat tracks riddled my forehead. Not to mention my clothes were a mess, my blue sweater was creased and covered with flecks of dirt and leaves.

"I'm just tired." I offered lamely.

I looked back to Ivy and met her piercing gaze. Knowing her, she wasn't going to stop pressing until she got the truth out of me.

I sighed. "Can we sit down for this?"

"Sure, I'll just get my order." Ivy said, nodding. "Do you want anything?"

"Thanks, but I'm not really up for ice cream right now." I replied.

"Okay, no problem."

I took a seat and waited for her. I gazed out the window, thinking about yesterday's incident. There were so many unanswered questions. Was the whole thing an accident and Scoot had gotten on a vehicle by mistake? Was there something more sinister going on with Pokémon being stolen? And most importantly of all, where had Scoot ended up?

My thoughts were interrupted when a bowl of ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce was pushed in front of me. I looked back at her with a raised eyebrow "But I told you I wasn't up for ice cream right now."

"Nonsense, there's always time for ice cream." Ivy smiled sweetly. "You look as though you are especially in need of it right now."

This girl is impossible sometimes. In any case she did mean well. I was just feeling too guilty to eat it right now. But to get her to stop gazing at me in anticipation, I scooped out a spoonful and shoved it in my mouth.

"Better?" she chirped.

I shrugged.

"I'll take that as a sort-of, maybe." she said. Her sunny disposition dissipated as she got more serious. "Now then, how about you tell me what's going on?"

I sighed for the second time that day. "Ivy, something terrible happened. It's Scoot, she's gone."

"Oh no!" I don't think I've ever seen Ivy look this concerned. "I was wondering why your Eevee wasn't with you. What happened?"

I quickly went through the events of yesterday, how Scoot had vanished, how I had spent all night searching for her, and the lead I was now running down.

"Zach, I'm so sorry to hear this." she said. "But what you're doing, it's incredible how much you are doing to find Scoot. If there's anything I can do to help."

"Thank you Ivy. Right now I need to track down this lead first." I said. "But I'll be sure to call in you if I need it."

"Whenever, wherever." she affirmed.

"Also, I'm sorry if this wasn't quite what you had in mind for today." I added sheepishly.

"Hey don't mind me. You have enough to worry about." Ivy said, a small smile slipping back before fading again. "But just be sure not to endanger yourself to get her back. Promise me that."

"Don't worry. We'll see each other very soon, where I'll make up for today." I assured her, standing up to leave.

"Good luck Zach. Let me know once you've found her." Ivy called.

"Will do. See you soon, Ivy" I said, as I walked to the door and left.

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 **This chapter took longer to write than I would have liked. I had some writer's block around the middle and some bits I was unhappy with so went through rewrites.**

 **As you may have noticed it's gotten grimmer than the last chapter. Well this is just the start. I've tried to balance it out with some snarky humor from our protagonist. Hope you like that.**

 **As always, if you like what you see, leave a review. Thanks in advance.**


	3. The Hunt is On

**A wild update has appeared! Seems like people are reading and liking my story. That makes me so glad and compelled to keep the story going. Once again, thank you to those who left a review.**

 **If you like what you see R &R.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Property of GameFreak and Nintendo. Yadda-yadda-yadda. You know how that goes.**

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 **Chapter 3: The Hunt is On**

So now I knew what I was looking for. But I wasn't going to wildly look for it like I did before. The girl in the ice cream store said it was some kind of delivery van. I knew of one main delivery company that operated in Kanto. They were known for showing up at Pokémon Centers or Poké Marts to drop off strange "Mystery Gifts" to random trainers. I had passed by the Kanto branch in the past. I'm sure it was two streets away.

I bolted over to the location in my memory. This does seems to be the place. It had the appearance of one of the many generic business-y looking buildings in the area. It had two levels full of grim looking windows and one visible entrance. What set it aside was a loading dock full of the delivery vans. Hmm, that's odd. I couldn't see the company name anywhere. Perhaps it was to keep the company all mysterious like their gifts? Or maybe the author of this story was just too lazy to think up a name.

So now I needed to know which van was outside the ice cream store yesterday. To do so, I needed a schedule roster and a delivery route map. Those shouldn't be too hard to find... Ugh, who am I kidding? I don't have a clue where to start. But first things first. Should I just waltz right in like a confident client, or should I keep my presence unknown? The sight of a guard with a Growlithe near one corner made that decision for me. I do not want to be caught snooping around a place like this.

I made my way to the entrance, failing to avoid glancing at the Growlithe who looked at me with murderous eyes. Pushing the glass door open, I came into an administration office which had seen better days. Dusty cardboard boxes were carelessly piled up around the room. A few guest chairs, torn and stained, stood facing away from the windows. At the far end of the room was a desk, with an open door behind it. At the desk there was a bored looking bespectacled receptionist, with steel grey hair kept in a bun. She was preoccupied with typing on a computer, not even looking up when I approached her.

"Umm hi," I lamely began. "I'm like... umm, a customer that has a delivery that... umm, hasn't been delivered yet." *mental face-palm* What the hell was that?

"Number?" she answered in a flat monotone, not even bothering to look at me.

"Sorry, what?" I asked confused.

"All inquiries here need a booking, please state your inquiry number." she explained, her tone sounding like she had recited this a million times.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware of the bookings." I responded lamely.

"Then you will have to take a seat and wait for our next vacancy." she droned on in the same mechanical tone.

"How long will that be?" I asked, not liking where this was going.

"Next vacancy at 6:00 PM," she said.

Whew, that wasn't so bad

"...on Friday."

WHAT!?

"But that isn't for 5 days!" I protested, my nervousness subsiding. "I'm on a tight schedule here."

"Guess you should make a booking next time," she replied "In the mean time read take a pamphlet and check out our website."

Ugh, I don't have time for this crap.

"Thanks for your time miss," I said, turning away. "I'll be off then."

I slowly walked towards the door, but kept my looking over my shoulder at her. As I suspected she never even looked up the whole time. I reached out my hand to open the door, still keeping my eyes on her. I swung the door open, but instead of leaving, I nimbly darted to side of the room where her back was turned to. I squatted in the corner, making sure she didn't turn to look and notice I was still here. So far so good. Keeping my couched position, I carefully inched towards the front of her desk, doing my best to avoid making any sounds. All those times playing hide and seek with Scoot must have paid off, I barely heard myself moving forward. Now comes the tricky part. I peered around the desk. The receptionist still paid me no attention. Still kneeled over I made my way past her and to the door behind her desk. Finally crossing the doorway, I slowly stood up and glanced back one final time. Nothing, she hadn't even changed her pose. Thank you Arceus!

Turning to my front I took in the room before me. Whoa! A massive room of shelves and conveyer belts, wheeling packages everywhere. I guess there's a chance Scoot could have ended up back here, but right now I needed to know the exact van that she got on yesterday.

I cautiously walked along an aisle between the rows of shelves. A few Magnemites flew across my path, paying no attention to my presence. I always wondered why those guys could be found in factory areas. Magnemites were attracted to electricity, but this wasn't exactly an electric rich place. I saw a few Magnemites using their magnets to pick up a metal box, and a few more zapping a coil to power a machine. Hmm, maybe these Magnemites performed tasks which humans were too lazy to do? Ah, who cares? It's not my business.

Now then, if I were a delivery roster, where would I be? I glanced around the many doors that led out from this chamber. They pretty all looked pretty much the same and I had no way of knowing where they led. Hold on, I paused at one door. Is that coffee I smell? Coffee meant it had to be a place where someone was relaxing. The employee's lounge perhaps? That would be a perfect place for a roster to be posted. I pressed my ear against the door and listened. After hearing no sound, I slowly turned the door handle and pushed the door in just an inch and peered inside. Empty, excellent!

Fully opening the door, I slipped inside and closed the door behind me. I was right; it was some sort of lounge room. The odor I detected was from a coffee making machine on a side table. The room contained a round table in the center, with a few chairs carelessly strewn around it, as well as a fridge at the far end of the room. I instinctively gravitated towards the fridge, my stomach hijacking my motor controls from my mind. It was a double door fridge. I opened up the left door, ah the freezer with most of several shelves removed to make way for a huge hunk of meat. I shut that one and tried the door on the right, the refrigerator. Oh look, someone's Rage Candy Bar. Well it's mine now. I had opened the wrapper and downed half the bar before I even realized. Hey, don't judge me! You have any idea how low my sugar level would be after everything I've been through?

As the fridge door swung back shut, I eyed the many sheets magnetically pinned on the door. Let's see: ads, personal reminders, sign-up forms. Ah-ha, just what I've been looking for. Among the mess of papers was a timetable showing which vans were assigned to which delivery routes. Besides the timetable was a map, highlighting the actual streets the route followed. Hmm, the route passing by the ice cream store was delivery route 3. Huh, that's weird. The van stops by the Pokémon Centre before ending up at a factory that was thought to have shut down.

My mind began to race with possibilities. Why would a delivery van travel from a Pokémon Centre to some abandoned building? Who would even be there to receive a delivery? What could possibly be delivered from a Pokémon Centre on a regular basis? Perhaps some Pokémon meds or treatment being sent over? But why would hire a delivery van to send something like that over? It makes no sense unless the meds were delivered in bulk. There was one obvious thing that could come from a Pokémon Centre, injured or recovering Pokémon. Come to think about it, I had presumed that Scoot was snatched up by force. But what if Scoot had boarded the van voluntarily? There were only two things that would incline her to head towards an unknown place: the scent of her favourite food or a fellow Pokémon in trouble. I highly doubt a Pokémon Centre would distribute her favorite Poképuffs via delivery van. Could Scoot have heard a Pokémon in distress and jumped on board for that reason? If that's the case there might be something more sinister going on. Pokémon being stolen? If this is the case, Scoot could be one of the captive Pokémon by this stage. There are a few facts I need to clear up first. Who hired the van? Has the Pokémon Centre reported any missing Pokémon? What is at that factory's location?

So many questions, so little time. I took out my phone and photographed the schedule and the map. As I was about to head out, I heard noises from outside the room. Oh no, no, no, no, no. If I'm caught I'll be charged with trespassing. I frantically looked around the room for a hiding spot. Hiding under the table wasn't an option, as there was no table cloth and I'd be spotted immediately. That leaves... the fridge. I can't seriously be thinking? Door handle turning. No time to change my mind. I opened the left freezer door and climbed in, with the door shutting behind me.

Now I know what you're thinking. How can a 17 year old teenage boy of my height possibly fit in a freezer? Well that hunk of meat I mentioned before. I think it came from a Tauros, because it was **massive**! Also, cramming in there was **not** comfy. I was crushed by this hunk of flesh, with my arms being forced into angles I never knew were possible. Oh, and did I mention it reeks? Trust me. You do not want to be in the same room as hunk of frozen meat, much less in a crammed freezer with it! Why was this thing even here, was it someone's delivery?

During the time it took for me to rant about being in the freezer to the readers, whoever came in earlier seemed to have left the room. I waited for about an extra minute to make sure that was all was quiet, before slowly pushing open the freezer door and out of that Arceus-forsaken hunk of flesh. Ugh, that experience almost makes me want to go vegan. Now let's get the hell out of here.

I opened the door of the lounge room and cautiously peered outside as I did earlier. Coast is clear! I silently sprinted out back into the chamber with the shelves and conveyer belts. Umm, hold on. Where the hell did I come in from? All these blasted doors look the same! I don't suppose there's some convenient exit sign lying about this place? Nope, no such luck. Well I don't have all day to go door exploring. I headed to the opposite side of the chamber and opened the door directly in front. It seemed to be a changing room full of lockers that were adorned with combination locks. As I was hoping, there was a window at the far end of the room. A little high up perhaps, but still accessible. There were a set of lockers directly underneath it. I used the combination locks as footholds to clamber up. Very wobbly and unstable, but I've had plenty of tree climbing practice. Finally I got my arms over the top of the locker and pushed my whole self up. Oh, it's so dusty up here. I clapped some of the dust off my hands before wiping the rest on my pants. Turning my attention to the window, I was happy to see it had a sliding mechanism. But of course it couldn't be that simple. The window was hard to budge due to lack of use. After digging my fingers around the frame's grooves and putting my whole weight behind pushing my arms, I finally got the stupid thing to slide open. Just in time for the door of the changing rooms to open up.

"Hey!" someone called behind me.

Well I'm not staying around to find out what they look like. I dived out of the open window... and plummeted from a second floor into a tree below.

"Ow!" "Ouf!" "Ouch!" I got battered against several branches as I fell down the tree, before I finally grabbed ahold of one to halt my fall. Though as luck would have it, my branch wasn't strong enough to support my weight and broke. As I fell, another branch below went right up between my legs!

"Ow, my Pokeballs!"

The pain prevented me from holding onto this branch. I slipped to my left side, rotating a clean 180° before falling downwards head first right into a bush.

Seriously? How did I end up at this height? I don't remember climbing any stairs. Ah forget it. I clambered out of the bush, covered in leaves and Spinarak webs. Before I had any time to recover, alarms went off in the building behind me. Well that's my cue to go. I bolted off in the direction opposite the building, eager to get away from that place.

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 **Wheew, that one was tough. I hadn't quite planned out the events in this chapter in advance. I was originally going to move right onto the next chapter, but that didn't quite connect up well. Zach had to find out the place, hence he gets to fool around in the Mystery Gift delivery company.**

 **Here's to hoping the next chapter will be here sooner. ^_^**


	4. The Dreaded Truth

**Hello everyone. I apologize for this chapter arriving so late. Unfortunately college resumed for me and I had a particularly busy semester. Very little time I could set aside to write among the avalanche of assignments and assessments.**

 **But I'm back at long last. Better late than never right? (BIG GRIN) *chirping crickets* Yeah I deserved that. Well anyway here's the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon does not belong to me and I make no profit from this story. If I did I wouldn't be a poor college student burdened by tuition fees.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Dreaded Truth**

I don't know how long I had ran for, didn't care too much either. My only concern was getting well out of range from Mystery Giftcorporated. Yeah that's what I'm calling it, now you can sue me. I had sprinted through the dense foliage that encompassed the building, through three or so streets, and finally ducked into an alleyway. Back against a wall, I allowed myself to catch my breath.

Now what was my next course of action? Let's see. I found out that a van had been hired to regularly stop off at the Pokémon Center. I also suspected that there was something amiss with this whole set up. First things first, I needed to find out if there is indeed trouble at the Pokémon Center.

While I could have just called them, I'm still going on a hunch. I need to see this for myself before I can make my next move.

After peaking out of the alleyway and scanning the straight several times, I was finally satisfied I wasn't being tailed. Now where was the Pokémon Center? On that note, where had I ended up? I was in such a hurry to escape that I hadn't payed attention to the direction. Meh, I'll just follow the main road until I find some landmark I recognize.

After 5 minutes of pacing down the street trying to look nonchalant, a building came up on my left that I recognized. It was a school facility. It had one main building serving as the main hall. It was about half a block wide, with several windows dotting the length of the walls, one door to the far left of the building's front. This was Viridian City's very own Pokémon Academy. It also happened to be the school that Ivy attended. The school was empty for the moment, as school would have ended several hours ago. Ivy had told me she finished early that day, but even a normal day the grounds should have been long been emptied out. Right now it was about 6 o'clock.

Having found this place I got my bearings back. The Pokémon Center was due south of here. I turned to the road perpendicular to the school and started sprinting. I was very close, at this rate I'd be there before the end of the next paragraph.

I followed the dirt road, passing by trees and shrubs before finally a welcoming a large building with a 'P' came into view. Sweet! Finally things seem to be going my way. Viridian's Pokémon Center was quite a sight to behold. It was dome shaped and silver in color, but had the frontal area of the dome absent almost like a Pokéball. There was a large red orb in the center of the... uh Center. There were stairs leading up to the actual entrance.

I made way up to the main entrance and walked through the automated doors. I then approached the desk where I was greeted by a familiar nurse with red hair.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy said greeting me cheerfully. "We heal your Pokémon..."

Ugh, why isn't there an 'A' button I could press to skip through all her dialogue?

"... Shall we heal your Pokémon?" Nurse Joy said, finishing her recital.

"Hi Nurse Joy, well actually..." I began, but hesitated. Was it wise for me to tell her the truth?

"Is something the matter young man?" Nurse Joy asked, a look of concern appearing on her face.

I met her eyes, seeing all the care and sympathy she gave out to all the injured Pokémon here on a daily basis. I decided I could trust her and she had a right to know what I suspected was going on.

"There's something I need to talk to you about. Something you need to know," I said, deciding to come clean with her. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

"Certainly." Nurse Joy said, taking note of my seriousness. She stepped out from behind the counter and walked towards a door to the side, gesturing me to follow.

Whoa! Just like that? It's almost like Nurse Joy was expecting this. So had something really happened here? I made way to the door and followed her through. She then led me down a hospital hallway, she glanced a few of the doors we passed by as if deciding before she finally settled on one. She unlocked with a set of keys she was carrying and held the door open for me to enter.

We headed in to a room which looked like one of the sleeping quarters with a bed that was made out. However it didn't appear to be one of the guest rooms. It had far too many personal belongings like a work desk with a computer, posters, and even a few Pokémon plushies.

Nurse Joy offered me a seat at her desk chair while she sat herself down on the bed.

"Now then," Nurse Joy said, all of her cheeriness replaced with a tone of seriousness. "What was it you needed to speak to me about?"

I took a deep breath, preparing myself. Should I launch straight into it? Perhaps I should make sure I have my facts right first.

"Nurse Joy, I have reason to believe there's a case of Pokémon theft." I began, but stopped when I noticed something. "You don't seem surprised by my arrival. Have you been expecting someone to show up?"

"Indeed I have," Nurse Joy said sighing. "It started a few weeks ago. We noticed we were short a few of the injured wild Pokémon that we take in. At first we thought it was a mix up in our records, but more and more Pokémon would go unaccounted for."

It was just as I feared. As much as I dreaded the truth, my suspicions had now been confirmed.

I quickly filled Nurse Joy on what I had discovered, of course leaving out the embarrassing (and illegal) parts of me breaking and entering. Luckily she didn't probe me on how I came across this information.

"I'm sorry about your Eevee," Nurse Joy said after hearing my recount. "But based on what you have told me, there is no definite proof on your theory."

I paused and thought about this. She was right; I had been doing a lot of guess work in my investigation. It's just I had a very strong feeling in my gut that I was on the right track. Or maybe it was the direction the author wanted to take the story in. Either way, I knew I had to go through with this.

"It's just a hunch at this stage," I admitted to Nurse Joy. "But I can procure proof soon with time. I am certain of this." I looked intensely at Nurse Joy, hoping my facial features conveyed the determination I was feeling.

"Alright," Joy agreed after studying me for a moment. "But until we have something solid, I can't ask the police to raid an obscure location on a hunch."

"Understood," I said nodding. "I will let you know as soon as I have something."

Nurse Joy led me back out to the foyer. A few more people had arrived since we had left the room, presumably Pokémon Trainers.

Nurse Joy resumed her cheerful demeanour. "Thank you! Your Pokémon are fighting fit! We hope to see you again!"

Huh? But I didn't bring in any... nevermind. I smiled back at her as I walked away. She was probably doing so to avoid suspicions and cause panic among the other trainers.

Now that I knew what was going on, it was time to set my plan in action. Yeah that's right, I've been working on a plan. I know this all started only a day or so ago, but it feels like I've been at it for months. Well on a meta-level at least.

I walked to the far right of the foyer. I passed by a guy looking down at his smartphone trying to catch Pokémon on a mobile game. Doesn't he realize we can catch the real thing in this world, without the use of that cheap augmented reality simulation?

I reached the end of the foyer where a number of PCs were situated. Sitting down at first one on the left, I punched my details into the keyboard. To undertake what I was attempting, I would need some help. My inventory came up on the PC screen, where I selected two Pokémon in storage to be transferred over.

I looked to the transfer device next to the computer. It had the appearance of a large metal tube positioned over a tray with a circular indentation, which is where the Pokéballs were placed or appeared. The Pokéballs materialized in succession, where I promptly picked them up.

"Alrighty then," I held a ball in each hand and threw them into the air. "Come on out my friends!"

The Pokéballs opened up, releasing red energy that materialized into a Vulpix and a Chikorita, with the latter immediately proceeding to leap into my arms in excitement.

I laughed, as the Vulpix licked my face while I held her with one arm. "I missed you too, Furfire."

"And good to see you Maple," I said, turning my attention to the Chikorita. Maple was a lot calmer and timid than Furfire, but still smiled up at me happily.

"Now then," I set the hyperactive Vulpix down. "As great as it is to see you two again, I actually brought you guys here for a reason."

This got both of their attentions as they caught wind of my seriousness.

So, you're probably wondering where these two mons came from and how I came to know them. Alrighty then. While I explain the situation to them, allow me to regale you readers on my history with the dynamic duo.

While Scoot the Eevee is my personal Pokémon, my family did have a few other Pokémon living with us.

Maple was originally the starter of my cousin who lived in New Bark Town of Johto. However health problems prevented him from being able to undertake his journey. But with the Chikorita still wanting to see the world and eager for adventure, he made an arrangement to have her spend half the time with us. Every week, Maple would be taken to the local Pokémon Professor, where she would then get transferred across regions. She would then wait at the respective Professor's Laboratory before being summoned from a PC. I was supposed to have picked up Maple yesterday, but it slipped my mind due to the whole Scoot going missing incident.

Furfire was a stray Vulpix that I came across one day when she was still a kit. She had been injured when I found her, so I had taken her to a Pokémon Centre. Once she had recovered, I put her into the care of the Kanto Pokémon Professor, in case her former owners did come looking for her. I never officially adopted her, but I was allowed to call upon her if the situation required it.

That about sums up how the backstories of Maple and Furfire. Just in time too. I'm almost done filling them in on what happened to Scoot. Who knew I was so good at multitasking?

"And now I'm going to set out to rescue Scoot from where I think she's being held captive," I finished up. "But I'm going to need help, and I've chosen you two. What do you say?"

"Vul-pix!" "Chiko Chiko!" were the determined answers I received.

I figured they'd be willing to help, after all Scoot was a good friend of theirs as well.

"Awesome," I smiled. "Alright then Poké Squad, move on out! We've got an Eevee to save!"

With that we all heroically dashed out of the Pokémon Center, or at least I hope that's the impression we gave based on the awkward looks we got from the other occupants in the Center.

* * *

 **Pheeew, went through so much writer's block with that final scene. Just wasn't happy with it and kept changing and tweaking it over and over. I promise I will be updating more regularly now, on a more fortnightly basis.**

 **I figured people would be thinking, for a Pokémon fanfic I didn't actually have many Pokémon being featured. So meet Maple and Furfire, the newest additions to Zach's team. To which you'll probably say "What team? He was by himself before." Guilty as charged** **. But** **from now on Zach won't be going it solo. I had always planned on some Pokémon companions, but these two were introduced a little earlier than** **intended** **.**

 **So hope this longer than usual chapter makes up for my hiatus. As always, if you like what you read, then drop a review ^_^**


	5. Infiltrating Enemy Territory

**Welp, looks like I spoke too soon. College hit right after I posted the last chapter. Seems like I'll have to switch to posting these monthly.**

 **I originally intended this chapter to be together with the previous one, but it was high-time I uploaded. The last one also had that feeling of completion where I ended it. Well anyway, here it is!**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is the property of** **GameFreak and** **Nintendo. So please be a dear and please don't sue me.**

 **Chapter 5: Infiltrating Enemy Territory**

* * *

As our heroes continue with their mission, they find themselves cautiously approach enemy territory with the intent of rescuing their friend who is in trouble. They have now reached the illusive company building where their friend was likely trapped, which ...okay, okay, I'll stop with the cheesy self narratives now.

I had done some preparation inbetween chapters. I had ducked back home and brought along a pack full of equipment that I may need. I've got rope, a crow bar, chewing gum (you never know when that might come in handy), and plenty of Rage Candy Bars. I also tried searching online for some information on the place, but resources were very limited. Best I could find was a very old photograph in a newspaper article, marking the company's closure. Needless to say I couldn't find any details on the interior. It's not like any average company would leave blueprints of their facilities lying around on the internet, let alone one that was this sketchy.

Back to the present. Along with the prep time and the travelling over here, I had also made sure to wait very late, until a little before midnight. Here's to hoping the place is less populated at this time of night. Now aware of the potential dangers I'd be up against, I wasn't going to merrily waltz in like I did in the previous chapters.

The place was surrounded by extremely thick vegetation. I was currently nestled within the shrubbery, having gone off the main path to avoid being seen. From my position I had a very good view of the building. Being here in person had an entirely different feel to what I saw online. In stark contrast to the worn down, depressing building of Mystery Giftcorporated, this place instantly gave me the creeps; featureless stone walls, at least three floors in height, barred metallic doors, and tinted windows that shut out the outside world. Yep, this place would rank high on the bad guy's real estate.

So how am I supposed to get in? Hold on. Movement!

I watched on silently from my hidey hole as a large garage-like door rolled upwards to open. Once the door sheet had reached the maximum height, it stood there for a few moments, as if it was waiting. Soon enough the path leading up to the building became illuminated from a headlight. An open roofed jeep drove into view before entering the garage space, with the door shutting in accordance once the vehicle had cleared it.

Interesting development. Seems like I have a way in, but from the looks of it there's a very narrow time gap of about 10 seconds for me to slip through. I'll have to get in a better position to pull this off.

I weaved between the trees, stopping at intervals to press my back against a tree to lower the chance of being spotted. I got as close as I could, but the even the tree that was nearest was a good 300 feet away. I went through the options in my head. I could either sprint the distance, take the chance to get up close to the building, or...

I took out the Furfire's Pokéball from my pocket. (Yes, I keep them in my pocket. Why call them Pokéballs if that's not where people put them?) Pressing the button to enlarge the Pokéball, I gently threw it to minimize the noise. The spherical device opened up, releasing a stream of red energy that materialized into the Vulpix.

I quickly clamped my hand over Furfire's muzzle. I put a finger to my lips and gently shushed her. While probably an unnecessary action, I couldn't be too careful knowing how hyperactive the Vulpix could be.

Satisfied she wasn't going to jump about excitedly, I released my grip. I then lowered myself near her ear and whispered what I needed her to do. Furfire nodded in understanding.

We waited for a few more moments, before the metallic shutter door started creaking upwards again. This time the door was accompanied with the rumbling of an engine from inside. I took a deep breath. Our timing would have to be perfect. I picked Furfire up by wrapping my arm around her torso so her front paws hung over my arm.

Once again the door ascended to its full height and whatever vehicle was inside began driving out. It was the same type of open roofed jeep as earlier.

I narrowed my eyes in concentration, waiting for the right moment as the vehicle drove closer.

"Now!" I whispered to Furfire sharply. She blew out a Smokescreen right at the rear of vehicle with perfect precision. With any luck, it would look like the smoke came out of the exhaust pipe.

I wasted no time and sprinted into the thick smoke while holding Furfire, heading towards my only way into the complex.

"What the?" I heard someone yell behind me.

"I told you it was time to get this antique serviced!" some other guy said in response.

I had no time to revel in my minor triumph. I could hear the door already closing up as I ran.

I put everything I had into it, now close enough to the door to see it was already three quarters closed!

No time to think. I swung Furfire in the direction of the door, before diving under myself, skidding under just as the door shut behind me.

Whoo! We made it in! Cue the obligatory hero on the ground victoriously panting for breath.

If only I had a fedora to grab from under the door and the scene would be iconic.

I looked up. We were in some kind of indoor parking lot, stretching for at least twenty or so parking spots that lined either side of a driveway. The same vehicles as the ones earlier were lightly scattered about the parking spots.

As I was taking this in, a nudge on my left hand got my attention. I glanced down to see Furfire had walked up to me and was looking at me in concern.

"Atta girl, you did great." I said stroking her pelt.

Of course as luck would have it, I wasn't allowed to enjoy the moment for long. I heard voices from another room getting closer.

Gritting my teeth in annoyance, I stood up, picking up Furfire in the process. I darted behind the nearest vehicle to the left of the driveway then held my breath.

"I'm telling you I saw it with my own eyes!" said a man's voice in excitement "White fur and everything!"

"You've been drinking too much Pecha Berry saké," another man said in disbelief "No way is there an ice type Vulpix Alola."

"Pix?" Furfire exclaimed, with her ing upwards at the mention of her species name.

Oh fu- *wait, _**K+**_ rating* fudge!

I put my hand around Furfire's muzzle, but it was too late.

"What was that?" the guy talking about the Alolan Vulpix asked.

"Dunno, you go check it out Chet." the other guy said "I'd come too, but I'm too lazy and it's my turn to boss you around."

"What? No fair!" Chet protested.

"Hey, I'm still recovering from your lecture about regional variant Alolan Pokémon," the other guy replied, "Now chop chop! This room ain't gonna search itself."

Oookay. That was a weird exchange between those two clowns. But now I got another problem to deal with. I could hear Chet's footsteps getting closer to my position. What to do? What to do?

Then I got a light bulb moment. I contemplated grabbing the light bulb floating above my head, but decided that'd be too cartoony even for this story. I needed another diversion.

I reached into my backpack for something I could throw. Too soft. Too light. Wait hold on, what's this? My hand curled around something metallic and cylindrical. I pulled out a can of lemonade! Ah f-... fiddle-sticks, I really wanted to drink this.

Oh well, no time to change my mind. I shook up the can of lemonade. Then pulling my arm back, I threw the can to the other side of the parking lot... followed by the sound of glass breaking.

Umm oops?

"Yeeee!" I think that was Chet, "What in Lugia's name was that?"

"More importantly was that my car?" the other guy asked. "You had better start praying that it wasn't or I might actually come over there!"

"You sure about that Hank?" Chet called back.

"Yeah you're right. I'm too lazy for that as well." the guy named Hank confessed "Just bonk yourself on the head like I would if you aren't praying."

" I'm praying alright." Chet replied, before mumbling "...that someone knocks your lights out."

While all this was happening, I stealthily scurried to the other end of the parking lot, pausing behind each vehicle to make sure I wasn't seen.

"Ooh look, a can of lemonade!" Chet announced in delight. "Funny the things you find crashing through windscreens, huh?"

"Do I look like I care? Check whose car it is!" Hank ranted.

"Why aren't you checking if it's my car?" Hank asked starting to sound desperate.

I had now reached the final vehicle. Peering around it I could see Hank was just by the exit. He was a mid-aged guy wearing an all dark grey uniform of a jacket, pants, and a cap. While he wasn't looking in my direction, if I moved any further he would almost certainly spot me.

"Nah, it's not your car man." Chet called back.

"RESULT!" Hank said in relief. "Ho-Oh does favor me!"

"Not unless your name is No. 150." Chet ad with chuckle.

"WHAT?!" Hank yelled out exasperated. "You, you inadequateding dong! That's my car number!"

I glanced up at the engine bonnet I was crouching behind. Indeed there was a large painted on number, this one reading "1".

"Ah, sorry for your loss man." Chet said, clearly sounding like he didn't mean it. "But look on the bright side."

"Enlighten me." Hank grumbled.

"I got a free can of lemonade!" Chet declared cheerily.

"Hold it!" Hank abruptly speed. "You do not!"

I chanced a look at Hank. He was trembling... no shaking, so hard it looked as though he would explode. Something I'd pay to see by the way.

"After everything I've been through, I'm the one entitled to the lemonade!" Hank declared, between sobs.

"You want me to bring it over to you?" Chet snorted.

"Oh no." Hank said, trying to restore some of his composure. "I'm going to do that unthinkable and walk over to you!"

Sure enough, he started plodding towards Chet's voice.

So... is this the villains' hideout or did I wonder onto the set of a sitcom? Meh, at least with Hank gone the exit was now clear.

I set Furfire on the ground (yes I was holding her the entire time), then stood up and looked around the vehicle to make sure there were no eyes in my direction.

Hank and Chet were still squabbling in the distance. I noticed they both wore the same attire of dark grey uniforms with a cap.

I gestured Furfire to follow and we nimbly sprinted through the exit, without the two stooges noticing us.

Pheww. I reached a lobby with an elevator and side door to a stairwell.

In this moment of tranquillity, I decided it'd be better to return Furfire to her Pokéball. She had been a huge help, but having her out would make it difficult to be stealthy.

"You were great out there Furr," I said petting her on the head. "For now rest up in your Pokéball. I may need you later."

The Vulpix nodded as I took out her Pokéball, though she looked down at the ground. I realized she must feel disappointed at herself for drawing attention earlier.

My heart felt heavy as the red beam reached her and sucked her back into her Pokéball. Under any other circumstance I would have taken the time to comfort and explain to her that there was nothing wrong, but I had no such a luxury at the moment, as time was of the essence. I vowed to make it up to her later.

I decided to take the stairs. It would give me some leeway to escape if I encountered anyone. I walked into the stairwell and looked upwards. The stairs seemed to go on as far as my eyes could see... in both directions! Yep, the stairs led downwards as well...

First things first, I need to get my bearings. In other words... time to do some snooping around until I find something interesting. Going up seemed like the better option for now. It'd be easier to escape from above then below. I speak from experience after all. Heh heh... actually let's **never** speak of that again.

I lightly sprinted up the stairs, making sure to minimize the sound my feet made, where I reached the door of the first floor. Wow, who would have guessed? The door is locked and I need a security access card to pass through.

Oh of course! This must be an emergency stairwell that's scarcely used, so of course it'd be restricted. So now what? Hmm, well there was one other option. I needed to get myself an access card.

"Maple come on out." I said tossing her Pokeball.

Maple materialized before opening her eyes and looking around.

"Shh," I quickly said, putting a finger to my lips just as I had done with Furfire.

"Now Maple, we're in hostile territory right now." I said explaining. "I'm gonna need you to do something."

"Chiko?" Maple chirped listening attentively.

"On my signal, I need you to use Sleeping Powder." I instructed.

"Chiko Chiko." Maple replied in acknowledgement.

"Okay then, follow me!" I said gesturing with my hand.

We scurried back down to the ground floor, with the only door that was accessible from this side.

I opened the door a hair breadth and gazed outside. No one there yet.

"Okay here it is." I said looking down at the Chikorita. "Get ready for my signal."

Maple nodded, striking a pose to be ready to launch off a Sleep Powder. Soon enough the elevator door pinged as it reached the floor.

"Get ready." I whispered to Maple.

The doors slid open and yet another person wearing the same grey uniform walked out. Geez, this place really needed to invest in a better tailor.

I waited until we had a clear view of his behind, and then...

"Fire." I whispered sharply to Maple.

"Huh?" the person said, turning _**his**_ head to look our direction.

By then it was too late. Maple already released a fine veil of purple dust through the crack of the barely open door.

I quickly shut the door so the Sleeping Powder would reach us.

A moment later a dull thud resounded through the door as the sedative dust claimed its victim.

I counted to 5 to give the powder time to disperse before reopening the door.

Just as the sound suggested, said person was sprawled over the ground unconscious.

"You did great Maple." I said petting her head, while she craned her head proudly.

I approached our unlucky individual, bending down and putting a hand just in front of the nose and mouth to check for a breath. Yep, still breathing. I won't have to worry about murder charges.

It was then I noticed something I had overlooked before. Said uniform I kept spotting had the letter 'R' stitched on them.

That meant only one thing... Team Rocket!

What the hell are these guys doing here? They were supposed to have been disbanded for years! I guess they must be the generic villainous organisation behind the Pokémon thefts.

Well now they're going to have to deal with me! Some random kid with two unevolved Pokémon that have little battle experience... Note to self, cross out motivational speaker off my list of potential careers.

Knowing Team Rocket was involved made all this a great deal more dangerous. I do not want to be caught. There was a previous guy before me who disbanded Team Rocket... what was his name? Red Ketchup or something? I'm not sure why he thought it'd be a good idea to merrily waltz in and take on all of the bad guys on his own. Me on the other hand, I was going to be a little more... cautious.

"Maple, give me a hand here." I called to the Chikorita.

Chikorita extended her vines and wrapped them around the grunt's legs, while I slid my arms underneath _**his**_ to hoist the grunt up.

Through a combination of dragging and carrying we got the grunt into the stairwell. Once through, I put the grunt down and closed the door. I then hefted the grunt so _**his**_ back was up against the wall.

I rummaged around the grunt's pockets. Let's see: standard items like phone, pokeballs and some less expected items like a purse, lipstick, and a handmirror, until I finally found what I was looking for. I pulled out a rigid plastic card of some description. Examining it I saw it was a Team Rocket membership card. Jackpot!

Okay now for the hard part. While I could sneak about with my newly acquired access, I'd still stand out if I ran into anyone. I've gotten lucky with my encounters so far, but there had to be a point where my luck would dry out. I needed a disguise and the only way I was going to get one... was to strip this grunt.

Barely even looking I used several swift motions to unclasp the grunt's jacket buttons and pulled off the coat, slid off the pants... and found myself looking at a pink bra!

OMG ( _that's Oh My Giratina_ )! This Rocket Grunt was a girl!

I guess that explains the mounds near her chest, and why all the gender pronouns got bolded and italicised.

In my defense, her midlength hair had been obscured by the cap she was wearing. Oh right, she's still wearing a cap. I quickly took that off as well and planted it on my head.

So I'm in a Team Rocket hideout, with an unconscious Rocket Grunt who happens to be a half naked girl... and quite a hot, attractive one at that.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

Frantically I looked around for anything that could be of use. All the while Maple was looking at me in confusion over why I was so flustered. Peering over the stairs at the floor below, I spotted a door with the word "Janitor" painted on it... I guess I don't have any other options.

Draping the girl on my back, I carried her down the steps... with great difficulty.

Reaching the door I was glad to see that it too had an access card scanner. All the while I had the girl on my back, I managed to get the card scanned and the stupid door open.

"I'm really sorry about this." I said to Rocket girl as I sat her atop a box while trying to keep as many mops from falling against her.

About to close the door, I hesitated. I wouldn't want the poor girl to wake up in a stuffy closet.

"Maple!" I said calling to the Chikorita, who was watching the show with curiosity from a few steps above. Her leaf perked up as I got her attention.

"I think it's best if this one..." I gestured with a nod of my head "...doesn't awaken anytime soon."

Maple looked to the grunt then back at me, not quite sure of my intention.

My face fell flat at the prospect of what I was about to ask. "Do you mind dosing her with another shot of Sleeping Powder?" I asked hesitantly.

"Chiko!" Maple nodded finally understanding.

"Okay, try and get it all in there." I instructed. "I'll be shutting the door again so it doesn't affect us."

Maple leaned back then fired off another cloud of purple dust into the closet, to which I promptly shut the door behind it.

Pheew, I wiped sweat off my forehead. Glad that was out of the way.

I picked up the clothes I took from the Rocket Grunt. I was actually going to do this? Meh, I've come this far, there's no going back now.

I put over the grey coat over my own clothes, and then pulled the pants on too. Surprisingly they fit me. So does that mean I'm a girl's size? Perfect, just what I needed to know.

No one else must ever know about this. I'd be so dead if even one person ever finds out. I mean imagine if this ends up becoming a fanfiction published on the internet. Wait, hold on...

* * *

 **And I think that's where I'll wrap it up for now. Okay, this one took waaay too long for me to publish. It wasn't just time constraints this time, but also the chapter kept dragging on and on and on. Kept having trouble deciding where to end it. Hence the much much longer than usual chapter.**

 **Anyways as usual, if you like this story drop a review or follow. I'll be happy with anything you guys have to say. Until next time, catch you later ^_^**


	6. Mission Improbable – Where's my Eevee?

**Hey guys, it's me again. First of all, just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great time spending the day with friends and family, while taking this time to cherish everything that we're so lucky to have.**

 **Also want to apologise for another late update. I guess it's no surprise by now I have trouble posting these things on schedule. Life of a college student you know. Things have gotten really crazy, not just with busyness but actually had a few difficult incidents in my life that have left me emotionally drained and kept me too distracted to finish the chapter until now. Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding. But as fate would have it, I got to post it around this special time of year. So here's my Christmas gift to you! Time for the boring disclaimer:**

 **Disclaimer: I think you know how it goes by now. I don't own Pokémon or any of this stuff, blah-blah-blah, please support the official release.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Mission Improbable –** **Where's my Eevee?**

Now that I was donning a Rocket Grunt disguise, I felt a little more at ease wandering the halls of the building. I had made my way through the first floor, checking any room that stood out with my "Get into any Room for Free" card. So far I had found nothing worthwhile. Here's to hoping my luck is about to change since the chapter has restarted. I had decided to recall Maple earlier just in case I ran into someone and it would raise suspicion. Team Rockets don't generally use Chikoritas from what I've seen and I would be less likely of needing to battle with my disguise.

I came across a door with a sign saying "KEEP OUT" plastered on it. Well, well, well, if you wanted me to 'keep out', you shouldn't have put said words on the door in the first place. Mufufufufufu!

Whoa, that was weird! I've never heard myself laugh like that in my head before...

I took out their card and put my hand on the door handle, but to my surprise the handle turned on its own without me even scanning for security access. Guess someone forgot to lock the door?

It was a confined room that was hexagonal in shape, with five sides plastered to the brim with monitors. To be precise, three rows of monitors for each wall, with five monitors in each row, making a total of 75 monitors... if my math is correct. Which it is! Fact: I can multiply numbers without a calculator, unlike some amateur wannabe authors who spend their time writing scarcely updated fanfics. Anyways, looks like I lucked out and stumbled across a security room. This'll save so much time as I won't have to physically hunt high and low on a Wild-Farfetch chase.

Obviously there was no one in the room, as if there was they'd probably notice me as I was standing here monologuing. Though it is odd that there isn't someone watching the room at all times. Bathroom break perhaps? Well in that case time's a ticking for me to get what I need.

I shut and locked the door behind me, just so I could get some warning if anyone approached. I then plonked down in the swivel chair in the center of the room. Hey, this is comfy! I wanna know where I can get chairs like this! Ugh whatever, security monitors now, comfy chairs later! I pulled the chair up to the control panel thingy and gazed up at the monitors.

My eyes darted around as I scanned the monitors, trying to find any place that looked as though Pokémon could be kept. I saw conference rooms, deserted corridors, a large office isle with now vacated office desks, and what appeared to be... A PUBLIC BATHROOM?!

Okay, what kind of sick people install cameras in a bathroom? Like seriously, it even had open showers with no forms of keeping privacy whatsoever. I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable with using a pubic bathroom after this.

After that shock, I finally came across something interesting. In the lower right corner of a wall, there was a monitor displaying what appeared to be a dimly lit cargo hold, which would have been perfectly fine except... the items being stored there looked an awfully lot like cages. I craned my neck and squinted, yep I was certain now. I could make out the glint of metal bars on the 'boxes' stacked there. Just then the screen flashed and flickered, as if there was a thunderstorm happening in that room. My metaphorical comparison soon became literal as a bolt of lightning flashed from the far end of the room. That was no thunderstorm, it was a Thunderbolt! I'm positive now, there are Pokémon trapped in there!

I looked down at the console desk where there was a reference chart for all the monitors. It appeared to be in the lowest floor of the structure, the basement. Ugh, of course that's where it would be. It just wouldn't be reasonable to put the sinister cargo holdfull of illegally smuggled Pokémon in an easily accessible location now would it?

Right on queue the door handle rattled. I heard a man's voice muttering something incomprehensible. Though it was clear he was pretty annoyed.

Ah swell, perfect timing. Looks like the security guard of the year ain't too happy about being locked out. Literally another 10 seconds and I could have been out of here!

I frantically looked around the room for any alternative means of escape. After seeing nothing but the aforementioned monitors and consoles from earlier, I looked straight up. Ooh, a ventilation shaft!

I clambered onto the console desk and outstretched my arms, but it was still well out of reach. Screw all of you tall people and your tallness, laughing your tall asses off right now! Whatever, I had no time to think up some elaborate scheme, time to improvise again!

I took out Maple's Pokéball and tossed it, where the Chikorita materialized onto the swivel chair.

"Chiko?" Maple gazed up at me in confusion, seeing me standing on the console desk.

"Sorry, no time to explain," I quickly replied back before pointing upwards. "Maple, do you think you can get that ventilation shaft open using your vine whip?"

Maple craned her neck upwards and squinted to see what I was gesturing at.

"Chiko!" Maple looked back at me and nodded, with her eyes narrowed in determination.

Maple shot her vines towards the shaft, but it was out of reach even for her. The Chikorita gritted her teeth, straining to push her vines just a little further.

"Maple, jump over and let me give you a boost." I said, outstretching my arms to act as a perch.

Maple bounded over into my arms, where I held her up. With our combined height Maple was able to reach the target. She slammed her vines into the shaft, budging the hatch but it wouldn't give way.

"Try pulling it," I suggested.

Maple grimaced and reached her vines even further, pushing them through the tiny holes before having them come outwards through other holes, effectively curling her vines around to get a grip.

"Chi-KO!" Maple said with a grunt, heaving with all her might. It was apparent a Chikorita's strength alone wasn't enough. I wrapped my hands around her torso and joined in pulling the hatch. Our combined force finally pried the stubborn thing off where it clattered to the ground.

Alas there was no time to celebrate, as I heard more noises outside. This time there seemed to be at least two voices conversing with each other. Looks like the dude from earlier has called for help in getting the door open.

"Okay, good job." I said giving some words of encouragement. "Now try to get your vines up there and pull yourself up."

Maple stretched her vines up the hatch. I then lifted her up with my outstretched arms to make it easier as she retracted her vines to hoist herself up. I lowered my exhausted arms once she had cleared the shaft. Now comes the hard part... Yeah that's right, everything before this was the easy bit.

I took out Furfire's Pokéball, pressing the button to enlarge it. I took a breath and pulled my arm back, knowing I only had time for one shot at this. With all my might I thrust my arm forward and threw Furfire's Pokéball, aiming for the hatch. Time seemed to slow down as the Pokéball sailed through the hatch, before a flash of redlight followed by the Pokeball release sound signalled my unorthodox success. Wow, wasn't really sure that would work. Yay for having the power of plot on my side!

"Vulpix?" Furfire called as she peered down at me from above.

"Hi Furfire, I'll explain later." I quickly replied back, catching the Pokéball that had conveniently fallen back into my hand, no doubt using the homing device that had to be implanted inside all of them that would somehow target a Trainer's hand. Okay, so far so good.

More noises from outside, I had to delay them somehow. I hopped down from the control panel back onto the ground. I then leaned over and scanned through the many buttons, looking for anything I can use. Ooh, this one looks cute! It was a big red button with the words " **SYSTEM LOCKDOWN** " underneath. Given that it's me, I just can't resist a big red button with foreboding text on it. Down my finger went pushing the button.

A klaxon horn immediately sounded followed by red hazard lights casting a red hue over everything in the room. This little turnout didn't seem to please the guys outside with the voices sounding more and more disgruntled.

I picked up the hatch door that had fallen on the ground, before shoving it into my backpack. My hand still in my pack, I pulled out the coil of rope I had brought with me earlier. Luckily I had gone to the initiative of pre-looping the rope so I wouldn't have to spend additional time now.

I climbed back onto the control panel and started twirling the lasso end of the rope to pick up centripetal force. Confident in my newly established throwing abilities from earlier, I launched the loop at the hatch.

"Catch!" I uttered sharply but without raising my voice, as I still made sure not to alert whoever was outside that there was someone in here.

I got two acknowledging responses back, which was verified by the rope not falling back down.

"Guys, try and find something to secure the rope to." I called out sharply but still keeping my voice lowered.

The rope pulled up and tensed. I took this as a sign they had somehow managed to find something to hook the rope onto in a ventilation shaft.

I gave it a short tug and was satisfied the rope was tense enough. I clasped both hands on and began clambering up. I'm not particularly heavy and no stranger to climbing, so it was no trouble at all to keep planting one hand above another as I pulled myself up.

However a faint beeping sound followed by a lock clicking sent ice flowing through my bloodstream. They must have overridden the lockdown I put in place.

Having reached the hatch, I placed my right hand over the edge with the other still grasping the rope. Keeping my right hand firmly planted as leverage, I got my other hand in the hatch too. Then it was just a matter of using both hands to push down and hoist myself over the edge and into the shaft.

No time to rest and pant for breath. With one big tug pulled the rope into the shaft before getting the hatch covering and placing that over the opening.

On my hands and knees, only then did I look back at my Pokémon who had saved me from that predicament. In the dimly light I saw to my shock, Maple had been clutching the rope in her mouth while using having her vines rigidly pressed against the shaft walls. Furfire was in front of Maple and had been pushing the Chikorita in the opposite direction to keep her from falling off.

"Great work guys!" I whispered sharply, reaching my arm out to pet each of them on the head affectionately.

"...and next time remember to bring your blasted card, Kerr!" an annoyed male voice said below me.

"Yes sir, sorry sir." The guy named Kerr replied.

"And how the hell did you manage to trigger a lockdown of this room?" the other guy queried. "You must have near pulled off the door knob to instigate that kind of response."

"I must have sir." Kerr said meekly.

"Pathetic!" the authoritative guy spat back. "You'd better watch it pal, you're dangling on by a thread!"

With that outburst, footsteps receded as the boss guy left leaving Kerr in the room alone.

"Well it could have been worse," Kerr said aloud. "At least it wasn't an intruder who came in here, triggered the lockdown, and then escaped without leaving a trace."

I gulped upon hearing that.

"Heh heh heh, that'd be crazy." Kerr reassured himself. "Now back to my dreary job as security room guy."

Sheesh, I almost feel sorry for that guy. But then I remembered he was potentially a part of a notorious criminal organisation, which made me feel less guilty for getting him into a predicament.

I once again gave a quick "shhh" to ensure my buddies kept their footfalls silent. I very slowly crawled away from the hatch, ensuring I didn't clang against the metal and attract Kerr's attention.

After a long boring period where nothing of interest happened. I finally decided we were far enough from the scene of the crime. I decided to take a short moment to fill Maple and Furfire in on what happened, and of course, our next course of action, so let's not get off course! ...Who the hell writes this crap?

Anyway, in case you weren't paying attention (in which case why are you even reading this story?), the plan was to locate the cargo bay which was most likely where Scoot was being held.

I looked ahead and saw dim light streaming in from the upcoming hatch. This seemed like a good enough spot to get out of this hole. Once I was up close, I paused for a few moments checking for sounds. After hearing nothing but deathly quietness, I decided to take the chance.

I laid on my back then turned so I was perpendicular to the hatch, which also forced me into a hunched position. I then thrust my pulled back legs at the hatch, the force of which kicked the hatch open.

I peeped out and had a quick look around to see if I had attracted any unwanted attention. It was a corridor and the wall on my side was opposite a wall with windows, beaming in the darkness of the night outside. Given the lifeless state of the corridor, I'd say the coast is clear.

I ushered my buddies out of the shaft before I replaced the covering. I couldn't get it quite to fasten since I had kicked off some bolts that had been holding it in place, but at least it was hanging there for now.

Now that I knew exactly where we were going, there was no longer a need to wander about aimlessly. There was an elevator at the far end of the corridor. Me and the mons headed straight over there. Time was running out so I didn't bother calling them back. I probably need them again very soon anyway, and more importantly the author got sick of writing out that line over and over.

The elevator door dinged almost immediately after I summoned it.

"Let's go guys." I said to the mons as we all got into the elevator.

Going down! I'm coming Scoot. Just hold on a little longer buddy.

The elevator opened up onto another foyer with the next room sealed off by a foreboding set of double doors.

"This is it guys," I said as I approached the door."Be prepared for hostiles behind here."

I got two calls of acknowledgement from Furfire and Maple following behind.

I took a breath, outstretched my arms, and pushed both doors open.

I was taken aback by the sight in front of me.

The room that awaited us was impossibly large. Larger than what the security camera made it out to be, larger than even that car park a floor or so above us. I swear there was an acreworth of space down here. With that massive size, there also came a proportionate amount of storage, and by 'storage' I mean cages. Cages and cages of captive Pokémon, as far as the eye could see! All of the starters from Kanto and Johto, a Growlithe, a Dratini, an Oddish, a Polywag... honestly just about every species I knew was here, along with many species I didn't know about. How was I supposed to find my Eevee in all of this?

I reached for my phone and quickly snapped a photo of the scene. Once I get out of here I'm gonna get the cops to all over this place.

We walked down one of the rows, with my movements bringing attention from the caged occupants. Heads lifted up and sad eyes followed me as I passed by cages of Pokémon, most of them small unevolved Pokémon with a few middle evolutions.

A flash of electricity ahead got my attention. I ran over to the source of the commotion. It was a caged Pikachu, who was trying to escape by using Thunderbolt on the cage door. Figured it was about time the series mascot showed up. I kept my distance, not wanting to get struck by the electricity. The Pikachu paused as it noticed us, it looked angry for some reason. Perhaps it was because of the outfit I was wearing and it thought I was a member of Team Rocket?

"Hey there," I gently said slowly approaching with my palms facing outwards to show I meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The Pikachu didn't look convinced and its cheeks started crackling again.

"Whoa, easy there!" I said backing away a little to keep out of the line of fire. "I'm not with the bad people. I'm here to help all the Pokémon."

Seeing the same death glare the Pikachu directed at me, I decided to try something else.

I looked to Furfire and Maple beside me.

"Perhaps you guys could help explain the situation?" I asked them.

The Chikorita and Vulpix shared a glance with each other before Maple stepped forward.

"Chiko," Maple announced confidently, gesturing to herself with her front foot? leg? paw? I'm not sure what the term is for Chikorita. But in any case, Maple tends to be a lot calmer so probably would be better off explaining the situation.

I nodded and crouched down so Maple could clamber into my arms. I picked her up and lifted her up so the Pikachu could see her.

Upon seeing her, the Pikachu halted its attack. Although its eyes were still narrowed and looked distrusting towards me.

Maple started conversing with the grumpy Pikachu in a cheerful tone, with the Pikachu giving an occasional response back. I could only guess what conversation was being exchanged and hoped that Maple knew what she was doing. After about a minute Maple looked back up at me and nodded.

"Okay," I said, a smile briefly creeping onto my face. "Could you also ask if they've seen an Eevee come through here recently?"

"Chiko Chiko?" Maple said turning back to the Pikachu.

The Pikachu sat up at this, completely dropping its disgruntled visage.

"Pikapi Pikachu," the Pikachu responded, "Kachu!"

At the last statement, the Pikachu gestured by flicking its right ear. Well _my_ right, which I guess would be _wrong_. Hah? Hah? Okay, I'll shut up now.

"That way? You sure?" I said looking in the direction the Pikachu pointed in.

The Pikachu nodded, no longer showing animosity towards me.

"Thank you so much Pikachu!" I said giving a bow of my head. "I promise we'll set you and everyone else here free."

The direction the Pikachu had pointed us in led us to a set of metal doors at the far end. Given the size of this place, that was a **lot** of walking. Good thing all that time taken can be summed up by a few words huh?

I approached the ominous set of doors. Twice my height with the only features being a flat metallic handle sealed by an electronic lock. Can't be any easy way to open this door... or so I thought. I decided to try the obvious method on the off chance I could luck out again, scanning the access card that had gotten me through everything so far. Should've come as no surprise that it worked yet again. Makes me wonder just who that girl I took the card off was. She must have been pretty high ranking to have access to so many places.

I reached for handle and pulled the door open just a sliver and peered inside. It looked to be... a laboratory?! Seeing there was no one in the immediate room I swung the door wider and held it so Furfire and Maple could walk through, before I quietly stepped inside myself.

Now that I was inside, I could take in my whole surroundings. The room was all white, as one wofuld expect from any clichéd laboratory. It was big enough to fit six tables full of well... lab stuff: test tubes, beakers, Bunsen burners, centrifuges, pipettes, pH meters, electrodes, and a whole lot of other technical stuff you'd need to Google up. But what caught my eye was on each table there was one cage. That meant not only were Pokémon being taken captive, but they were also being experimented on!

Most of the cages were unoccupied, save for one at the end of the room. The occupant of the cage was a Rattata. I got up close and saw the Rattata was lying in its cage panting heavily, looking to be thin and malnourished. It also shivered every few moments, possibly indicating the pain it was in. I saw it was hooked up to a machine with several wires and tubes connected to it. I looked towards the machine and glanced all over trying to figure out what its function was. There were lots of flashing lights and gauges that didn't tell me much. But what did clue me in was a see through glass collection tube to the left hand side. In the collection tube piling up high were what looked like purple pills. No wait, not pills, candies! Specifically I recognized them to be Rattata candies. Realization hit me. All those candies that Pokémon GO trainers get from sending their mons, they get made here using the Pokémon that were sent over!

How barbaric! This Rattata and Arceus knows how many more mons were being drained of bodily substances to make these candies.

Hey, don't look at me like that! You had to have figured something sketchy was going on with those candies, right?

With a grunt of frustration I powered down the machine that the Rattata was hooked to. I then hit the lock mechanism on the cage and swung the door open. Carefully I did my best to pull the cords and tubes out of Rattata, it was very messy and bloody work, but I didn't have the time or luxury to keep everything nice and sterile. The Rattata was too weak to respond to any of these actions. I gently lifted it out of the cage and onto the lab bench.

I reached into my bag for something I had brought along just in case. I pulled out a Potion, used to restore health to injured Pokémon. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use it, they were expensive and I only had a limited supply on me.

"This might sting a bit, okay?" I said, before spraying the potion over the Rattata.

After a few moments the Potion took effect, its wounds starting closing over and its strength restoring. After a moment the Rattata opened its eyes and looked towards me.

I took a step back to give the Rattata space and on the chance it would mistake me for being hostile. The Rattata gave no signs of aggression, but instead seemed to look at me with a puzzled or curious expression.

"You're free now." I said slowly to make sure the Rattata understood me, "Do you know the way out of here?"

In response, the Rattata scurried across the table, leapt off, and darted to the other side of the room out of sight.

"I'll take that as a yes." I said to myself flatly, before a blur of red fur running past me caught my attention.

"Furfire! This is no time to play tag!" I called out sharply.

The Vulpix halted her chase and skidded to a stop. She hung her head and traipsed back to my position, clearly moping.

"I'm sorry Furr," I added feeling guilty for snapping "It's just this place is dangerous." I bent down to give a quick pet of her head to show her that I meant it.

I turned back my attention to the matter at hand. So now all the cages were empty, but no sign of Scoot. Wasn't this the place the Pikachu meant? My eyes darted all over the room looking for anything I may have missed. My attention fell on the back of the room where there seemed to be display window showing a currently darkened room. I approached the glass and peered in, straining to make out the darkened figures inside. Was that...?

I reached for the door handle and swung the door open, determined to see if I was right. There must have been some motion sensors which picked up my presence in the room, because the room was immediately bathed in bright light that you'd find in an operating theatre. Squinting my eyes from the brightness, I saw at the opposite end of the room there was some kind of tank. It was cylindrical, filled with a blue colored liquid that was bubbling. There was also something suspended inside the tank, held in place with wires connected to it.

No, don't tell me... I approached the tank took get a closer view. My blood turned cold as my fears were realized, floating inside the tank was an Eevee! My Eevee!

* * *

 **Pfft, for some reason fanfiction . net was experiencing technical problems and couldn't upload all day. Well at least the issue is resolved now.**

 **These lengthy chapters sure are taking so much longer time to post. Personally I'm very meticulous in the quality of my story, sometimes with** **a single scene will take excessive brainstorming and rewrites before I'm satisfied.**

 **For the record, I did do that multiplication without using a calculator :P**

 **Once again, I thank everyone for your patience. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and Merry Christmas!**


	7. Now Let's Get Outta Here!

**Hey guys, Surprise! It's me again.**

 **Before I get into the chapter just like to get a few things out of the way. Firstly, no I'm not dead. Secondly, I'm so sincerely sorry for the immensely long hiatus of this chapter. The reason for my absence was I got absolutely buried in my college course. In the last few months I've had to dedicate extensive time to finishing my thesis (about 60 pages of research findings). So basically I have been writing, just writing for other things. To anyone who has had the patience to read up until now, I thank you so very very much for your understanding.**

 **I had actually got the chapter about half done before it reached the point where I simply couldn't set aside any more time for it. Really wanted to post what I had many times over, but I just wasn't satisfied that it felt 'done' yet. Then when I finally got the chance to start writing again, went through heavy writer's block due to not touching this thing for so long. I seriously contemplated just discarding the story altogether, but reminded myself that I'm not the kind of person to abandon something unfinished. If I start something then I will see to the end of it, no matter how long it takes. So I give you, my dear readers another (extremely late) chapter.**

 **Guess I haven't done a serious, professional sounding disclaimer in a while, so...**

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon is the property of GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not own any of the characters aside from my OCs. Please support the official release.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Now Let's Get Outta Here!**

I had found my Eevee, but I never could have fathomed it'd be like this. I gazed on, half shocked half angered.

"What have they done to you Scoot?" I muttered, having finally found my voice buried under the dryness of my throat.

With these words uttered, I found myself unparalyzed from my initial shock. I approached the machine, not having the foggiest idea how I was going to get her out.

I paced around the machine, checking up and down for any clue as to what it did and how I could safely turn it off.

The majority of the machine was taken up by a cylindrical, ceiling-high, glass tank. In the tank there was some clear liquid bubbling. The base of the machine was metallic with lots of monitors displaying stats and graphs, one of which must've been showing Scoot's vital signs. Speaking of which, said Eevee was suspended inside and held in place via a harness connected to the bottom of the tank. She appeared to be unconscious, with her head and limbs lifelessly dangling with the currents in the tank. Much like the Rattata, she had various wires connected to her as well as mask over her snout.

Well at least they're making sure she can breathe in there. But I still have no idea what this thing does. My eyes darted around the room, looking for something, **anything** that could clue me in on what I was supposed to do. I finally noticed a computer sitting in the far left corner that had been obscured by the tank earlier.

I approached the computer, tapping the space bar a few times to awaken it from sleep mode. Come on gurl, give me some good stuff. Fortunately the computer was logged on and didn't require any username or passwords. Geez, who was in charge of the security of this place?

On the screen was a desktop with several folders. I clicked on one titled "Results", which brought up a long list of files filled with numbers, graphs, and charts. Too technical. I didn't have the time to decipher what this data meant. Although I did pick out some stray words like "subject", "DNA", and "radiation" while skimming through all that.

This was getting me nowhere. I tried another folder, this time titled "Project". Now this one was a little more promising. The first document to come up with was some kind of experimental summary which even came with an abstract. Let's see now:

 _Project EV133, underway. Have finally acquired an Eevee, allowing for tests in the Pokémon evolutionary process, whereby attempting to unlock the process of instigating, halting, and reversing evolution. Experiment has progressed swiftly and has reached Phase 3 ..._

I see. So that's what this was about. Running experiments on Eevee evolutionary energy? I guess this means this machine was either testing or tampering with Scoot's evolutionary power. How dare they?! I've already seen these monsters do so many horrible things. But this... is the last straw. **Now it's personal**.

Back to the matter at hand. From what I read, there didn't seem to be anything life threatening about the machine. So long as I shut it down correctly, Scoot shouldn't come to any harm.

Let's see now. I think it said this lever thingy at the back of the machine was supposed to draw out the liquid from the tank. I pulled it all the way down, and sure enough the nameless fluid began to drain into several outlets. I watched as the liquid level receded with Scoot floating down with it, until finally the Eevee lowered onto a platform at the bottom of the tank.

Well that's the first part done. Now how do I get this thing open? It seems like the glass casing was supposed to retract downwards into the machine. Problem was the operating mechanism had a keyhole ignition, and I don't have a key. So now I have to go key hunting before I can get this thing open? Ah, to hell with it, I don't have time for this. I quickly went outside the experimental room back into the main lab. In one of the walls in a corner was a set of emergency fire equipment, which included an axe. I hefted the axe from the wall and brought it back to the room.

"Stand back!" I called to Furfire and Maple, who had been gathered around the tank intensely watching this whole time.

I took a breath and swung the axe at the glass. Several cracks spread over the glass casing as the axe head made contact. I pulled back and struck again a few more times, spreading the cracks further and further, until with one final swing I broke through. Glass shards splintered and fell through inwards seemingly at slow motion. Wide eyed at realizing what I had just done, I peered inside to see if Scoot was okay. Thankfully it seemed like no major pieces had hit her and was otherwise unscathed. Phew, really dodged a bullet on that one, but probably should have thought that through.

I reached in through the hole I made, careful to avoid the sharp edges, and tried to pick Scoot up. Oh right, she's still hooked up to the machine. It was a bit fiddly with me leaning over with the gaping glass edges, but I managed to unstrap her and pull out the wires that she had been connected up to. Then slowly and carefully I lifted her out of that cursed machine.

I quickly carried over to one of the tables in the room and laid her on the surface. I brushed off her fur to get rid of any stray glass pieces. Then I put my hand on her underside to check for a pulse. It was there alright, though it was very weak. Well now is as good a time as any. I took out the potion I had used before. However instead of spraying it, I unscrewed the lid and poured it over Scoot, then rubbed it in all over her. I figured her injuries would be immensely severe and would require more help in recovering.

After the last of the potion was gone, I stood back and waited. Seconds slowly crawled by, each feeling like an eternity, as I stood there hoping, hoping I hadn't screwed up, hoping I had made it in time. The world unfroze when I heard Scoot inhale and her eyes flicker open. Yes, she was alright!

"Scoot." I said softly, not wanting to startle her.

"Eevoi?" Scoot looked up in surprise, before a smile spread over her little furry face at the sight of me.

"Scoot!" I called out, no longer being able to contain my joy as I ran to her.

"Eevoi!" my Eevee replied back, standing up with her revitalized strength and sprinted towards the edge of the table and leaped towards me.

I caught her in an embrace and hugged her tightly, unable to hold back the tears of finally being with my friend. I felt the waterworks trickle down my nose and I'm sure I had the widest grin on my face right now. At long last, I finally found her!

"I've finally found you," I said in-between sobs, "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Eevoi" she replied back, nuzzling my chest affectionately.

"Vulpix!" "Chiko Chiko!" Came cheers from below my feet.

After several moments staying in that position, I remembered where we were and that we weren't safe yet.

I pulled back from the hug and gazed at Scoot. This got her attention and she looked up at me in confusion.

"We're not out of danger yet," I said to her, I then addressed the Pokémon at my feet. "We gotta get out of here.

"But first," I said as we started walking out into the main lab. "I've got a promise to keep."

Right on cue, the laboratory door handle turned. The door opened up to reveal some middle-aged guy wearing a lab coat who stood there evidently shocked at the startled by the sight in front of him.

Oh FFS! I was done hiding. The gloves are coming off.

"Vinewhip! Tie him down!" I commanded before the man had any chance to react.

Maple's vine shot out as far as a striking Ekans, snaring the prey's legs and making him topple to the ground. She then retracted her vines making the guy slide towards us.

"Hey! Hey! What gives?" he yelled, evidently still not comprehending the situation.

"Good, now hoist him up by the legs so he can see me." I instructed.

Maple complied, pulling his legs upwards with her vines. This left his head planted on the ground at an awkward angle while his arms were splayed out to the side.

"You've kidnapped Arceus knows how many helpless Pokémon and have been conducting inhumane experiments on them." I said staring him down into his upside down eyes. "When all this is over, you'll be lucky if all you get is a jail sentence."

"I-I was just following orders." Scientist Guy replied meekly.

"Orders? You still chose to run these awful projects with your own hands, knowing fully well the pain and torment you were causing." I said continuing on with my speech. Would ya look at me now? I'm on quite a roll here!

"Team Rocket Scientist Guy, you have failed this city!" I said while pointing my finger at him for emphasis. "Huh, always wanted to say that."

"Actually my name is Gideon."

"Hit him with an Ember!" I commanded.

"VUL-PIIIX!" Furfire called out launching a ball of fire straight at his face.

Gideon's limbs limped after taking the impact, he was clearly out cold.

"Good work, now drop him and let's go." I told Maple.

She nodded, releasing her grip.

We sprinted out of the lab through the now open door, while I still carried Scoot in my arms. Right then, we were back in the cathedral sized cargo hold. Now how am I going to set all of these Pokémon free?

All I know is it's not going to be easy.

I cluelessly gazed around the cathedral sized space, before my eyes fell on a platform with yellow and black safety markings painted on it. I wonder...

I made way over and clambered up the steps. It can't possibly be this easy... On the platform there was a chest height control panel with various buttons, dials, and a screen. There's no way it could be this easy... I reached for what I assumed was the ignition key, turning it 90° clockwise, bringing the dimmed monitor to life. Is it seriously going to be this easy? I used the buttons on the side to scroll down the menu displayed on the monitor and selected one tab titled "Emergency", which opened up another set of options. I then picked one titled "Evacuate".

A pop up message appeared on the screen saying:

"Are you sure you want to release all cages?"

Hell yeah I do! I pushed the blinking green selection button. Suddenly hundreds of clicking sounds reverberated across the space, as all the cage doors swung open to release their occupants.

"Well that was easy." (That's what she said.)

It was like my voice breaking the silence served as a queue, where suddenly a plethora of scampering, flapping, and thumping sounds resonated as all the captive Pokémon made a run for it.

Probably should have thought that through (again). I winced as a sea of Pokémon rushed underneath my platform, and charged towards the several exits on the other side of the room. Guess these Pokémon all know where to go from watching people arrive and leave this place. I then noticed a large pileup on the other side of the room. Dammit! I forgot about the doors. I can't possibly get the door to the stairs open in this wave of fur and feathers.

Now how am I supposed to get these mons out of here? Come to think of it, how did they get them in here? If it was just one or two then they could bring them down in the elevator, but what if they needed to transport a mass number of them at once.

I looked back down at the control panel that had given me all the answers thus far. If it worked once, maybe just maybe... I scrolled through the lists of menu options looking for something else I could use, before I finally found something interesting: "Door Lock Mechanisms".

Selecting this option brought up a map of the floor I was on, with most of the doors highlighted in red, except for one green which was presumably the lab door I had unlocked earlier. Okay, let's do this I said cracking my fingers. There were a total of six doors marked in red, to which I proceeded to tap all of them and switch them to green. Several doors swung open all over the facility and the Pokémon pushed through to freedom on the other side. Hopefully the doors on the ground floor aren't locked.

Wow, talk about convenient! Now even I know that's just lazy writing. (In my defense I was stuck on this scene for ages due to writer's block and needed a quick way to end it.)

Since that's out of the way, let's get myself out of this nut house and back to living my life with my friends. I descended down from the platform and treaded through the now eerily quiet cathedral. But right on cue the elevator doors pinged open. Figures there had to be some karma to my luck.

"Well what do you know?" said a familiar voice "Something did happen for once!"

"This just isn't my day." The second guy started complaining "First my car gets wrecked, then I get drenched in lemonade, and now I have to deal with Rocket Scientists holding their Union Strike in the middle of the night!"

Drenched in lemonade? Ohh, I remember! It's those two clowns, Hank and Chet, that I encountered back in Chapter 5. (Yeah, even I had to look back and check since it's been this long.) Though which one was which? I never did get a chance to match names to faces.

"Actually I think it's more along the lines of Pokémon Freedom Activists letting all our hard-earned captures loose." said Hank or Chet.

"Hey you there!" the other Chet/Hank called out.

Guess they finally noticed me standing there rooted in confusion. I slowly turned my head to face them.

"I take it you're the twerp we have to take care of?" Chet/Hank asked.

"Umm," I fidgeted as I pondered my choices, "Will my answer to that question in anyway affect your next choice of actions?"

"Hmm." The first Hank/Chet scratched his head, "Not really, no. We're going to bring everyone down here in for questioning regardless."

"Yah, so if you could make it easier for us and just fall to the ground, that's be pretty swell." the second Chet/Hank added.

Well crap, guess I'm not talking my way out of this one. But I do have one last card to play.

"That's cool and all, but you won't be defeating me today!" I announced defiantly.

"What makes you so sure?" Hank/Chet asked.

"Because the end of the chapter is about to cut you off, and with the way these things usually go, the next one might not be uploaded for months."

"What the hell are you on...?"

* * *

 **And here we are; the end of the chapter. Saved by Zach's fourth wall breaking powers.**

 **Just want to take this time out to say a huge thank you to anyone who has stuck with me for this long. The past year has been so immensely stressful for me and I simply could not find any time to write. Good news though: my thesis got submitted and I have my marks back. Got an A! :)**

 **All in all I'm just relived I managed to push through and bring you another (very very late) chapter. Since my time has been freed up, I swear to Arceus the next one won't take this long to upload. In fact some of it's already done due to me cutting it short.**

 **I love you all my dear readers and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Until next time, Slaezzior out!**


	8. Finally a Pokémon Battle

**Eh, not sure if I should even apologise anymore given you should probably expect me to be late on the updates. Well all the same, sorry for this one being late yet again. I tried to post for Halloween, missed that. Tried to post around the Detective Pikachu trailer, missed that (also RIP Stan Lee). Tried for Thanksgiving, missed that. Now it's December already and it's getting all Christmas-y.**

 **So anyway little update on my life. Since leaving college I have managed to find work at a new job. Now I can make a start on earning back and paying off my tuition fees that I'm indebted too. Also as a little side project I've been working on becoming a YouTuber, and have been honing my video editing skills to make something fun. Haven't got a video up at the moment, but I've been pumping in the hours. For now I'll be making a variety of skits and fandubs featuring characters from different anime interacting with each other. If anyone is interested I will provide my channel name once I got some content uploaded.**

 **But of course we're not here to watch videos, this is a fanfic story composed of text. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

 **Oh and of course the disclaimer: Pokémon doesn't belong to me. Please support the official series please :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Finally a Pokémon Battle**

"I am here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I can't find any bubblegum." Said the guy on the left who I came to learn was Hank "Like seriously, do you have any bubblegum?"

"As a matter of a fact I do. You okay with cinnamon?"

"Love cinnamon!"

I pulled out a stick of gum and threw it to him.

"Thanks kid."

"No worries man." I replied back. "So... since you got some gum are you going to not beat the crap out of me now?"

"Nah sorry little dude, we're still gonna have to capture you." Hank replied back looking genuinely sorrowful. "But if you could like, not fight back and just come with us, it'd make all of our lives a lot easier, especially mine."

"Well sorry," I said standing my ground and narrowed my eyes. "That's not gonna happen."

"I see," said Chad on the right, before turning to Hank "Okay, he resisted. You owe me 5 Poké dollars now."

These dunces were placing bets on me?!

"But I need that money to fix my windscreen man!" Hank protested.

"Hey I don't make the rules," Chet replied holding his hands up defensively.

"Yes you did!" Hank retorted. "When I asked why you were so sure on the rules, you said it was because you wrote them!"

"Ah well actually," Chet answered rubbed his head in guilt "When I said 'I', I actually meant **I** -saac from accounting. 'I' is just the nickname I started giving him as of this moment."

"Umm hello!" I called out. "So we gonna do this or should I just come back at a better time?"

"Oh drat, my sincerest apologies kid." Chet quickly said turning to me. "We won't take up any more of your time and get straight to beating you up."

"Thank you." I nodded in courtesy "I was on the verge of making a complaint on terrible customer service offered here."

"Understood and my sympathies." Hank pitched in "The customer is always right after all."

"So if I'm always right... does that mean I'm right about how you should just let me go be on my way?" I perked up hopefully.

"Oh but come on! We already got all pumped up for a battle and everything!" Chet started whining.

"Oh okay fiiine." I rolled my eyes. "I guess the readers need a proper Pokémon battle to stave off the boredom."

I gestured with my free arm for Furfire and Maple to head out.

"If it's a battle you want..." I began, before lowering my voice to make it sound gravelly " **Then** **bring it on.** "

Hank and Chet both drew out Pokéballs which released a Golbat and a... _**RHYDON**_!

"Hey no fair! You're supposed to be lowly minions. You're not meant to have really cool Pokémon!"

"Oi, I'll have you know this was a Christmas present from my grandma!" Chet declared defensively.

Ugh, whatever. In any case there's no way I'm going to lose to a pair of comic relief characters.

Let's see. We've got a poison type and a rock type. Maple is weak to one and effective against another, well this is a no brainer.

"Maple! Use Razor Leaf on the Rhydon!"

The Chikorita leaned back before firing off a flurry of leaves at high speed towards the rhino Pokémon. The Rhydon looked visibly hurt from the Super Effective attack.

You know, I never understood the logic behind how a gigantic rock monster could get hurt by throwing leaves at it. But then again, who am I to question the mechanics of the world I live in?

"Furfire! Use Ember on the Golbat!"

Furfire unleashed a ball of crimson flame at the bat with the gaping mouth... and scored a direct hit! A now charcoal colored bat then plummeted out of the air once the dust had cleared.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU DODGE?" Hank yelled in anguish.

"Oh crap oh crap!" Chet started panicking "What moves work against a Leaf type again?"

"It's called Grass type." I deadpanned "And to answer your question: VINE WHIP!"

"My Rhydon has vines?"

Chet never got his answer, as Maple lashed out with her vines leading the Rhydon to get struck by another Super Effective attack, this one finally knocking it unconscious.

"No fair!" Chet whined "You didn't wait for me to make my turn!"

"This is war, you expect me to wait around for you to counter? We do what we must to survive and I sure as hell will survive." I chimed in. "Now summon your last pathetic Pokémon so we can end this!"

Oh I'm sorry. Were you expecting a lengthy, epic, battle full of strategy and visual spectacles? Well blame the two idiots I'm been paired up with who don't even know the first thing about typing.

"Well I'm out." Chet said matter-of-factly. "I didn't have anything aside from that Rhydon. How about you?"

Hank fumbled around and pulled out another Pokéball.

"All I have is..." Hank cast the ball out "No no, I can't."

"Look man, we're about to get our asses handed to us by a kid!" Chet said laying their situation out. "I was really hoping we'd be the first grunts where that wouldn't happen."

"But... but... this is..." Hank said gazing at the Pokeball unsure of what to do.

I've had enough of this. I took a deep breath and did my best to sound menacing.

"Hurry up and summon your last pathetic Pokemon so we can end this!"

"Ugh okay, fine! Haunter, I'm counting on you!"

A Haunter materialized out of the ball, sticking out its extremely long tongue, bulging out its eyes, and began cackling.

A ghost type huh? That means normal type moved won't work on it but at the end time it would be ineffective against a normal type. What should I do?

Scoot was trying to climb out of my arms, eager to join in the battle.

Oh of course! My Eevee is perfect, especially given a certain attack she knows.

"You sure about this?" I asked while gazing down at her.

"Eevoi!" came a confident reply.

"Okay then. Scoot! Show them why I gave you your name. Use Quick Attack!"

I flung Scoot into the air to give her a boost, to which she hit the ground running. She bolted across the room in a zigzag formation, leaving a silver trail behind her as she did so.

Haunter's eyes flickered all about unable to keep up with the super fast Eevee.

"Now get up close and use Shadow Ball!"

Scoot darted right underneath the Haunter, craned her neck up and fired off a sphere of dark purple energy from her mouth. The Shadow Ball blasted right into the Haunter's underside, causing it to lurch from the Super Effective attack.

"Haunter, use Night Shade!"

The Haunter recovered from the previous attack and proceeded to fire off a beam of purple energy straight at my Eevee.

Scoot flinched a bit at the sight of the attack.

"Don't worry Scoot," I called out to reassure her "Just stay where you are and you'll be fine."

Scoot evidently trusted me and stood her ground

...only for the Night Shade to pass harmlessly right through her.

"What the...?" Chet was exasperated by this display "I call hax!"

"Do you idiots seriously not know anything about Pokémon battles?" I asked no longer able to contain my disbelief. "Ghost type moves don't work on normal types."

"Ugh Curses!" Chet moaned, except the Haunter took it literally and used Curse. A nail of ghostly energy appeared and impaled the Haunter. The ghostly nail then materialized above Scoot and penetrated her too!

Oh no, Scoot has been cursed! This is bad! I saw my Eevee wincing in pain every now and then as the Curse started sapping her health away. I gotta end this quick!

"Let's finish this! Get behind the Haunter and fire off another Shadow Ball!"

Scoot zipped around the Haunter and charged up the Shadow Ball at her mouth.

"Haunter, do what he said... ONLY FASTER!" Chet called out in desperation, looking as though he was about to piss himself.

Haunter obeyed and fired off its own Shadow Ball simultaneously to Scoot. The two Shadow Balls hurtled towards each other and collided midair, releasing a huge blinding flash of white light.

I winced as I became temporarily blinded. If the light was able to affect me from this distance, then it must be the same case for Scoot.

"Scoot, try and run towards the sound of my voice I called out!" I called out.

"Eevoi," came a reply in acknowledgement followed by the pattering of paws scampering towards me.

"Haunter, you also head towards his voice and use Lick on whatever you find!" Chet ordered suddenly sounding inspired over having an idea.

Ugh, this is bad. Not because I fear for Scoot's safety, but because being licked isn't sanitary. I don't want her to contract rabies.

"Scoot! Keep your ears perched for the wispy sound of the Haunter, and once it's right on top of you I want you to do _**THAT**_ , our manoeuvre we've been working on!

My vision came back just in time for me to see the Haunter lunging at Scoot with its tongue outstretched. Scoot's tail then lit up with a white light and she flipped 180° so her Iron Tail slammed down on upon her assailant. A resonating **WHACK** could be heard as the Steel type move found its target.

"Is that what a Lick sounds like?" Chet asked hopefully.

His question was answered as his Haunter dropped to the ground with spiral eyes.

"Way to go Scoot!" I cheered.

Scoot beamed, proud of her feat. The look of pain she had earlier had also subsided now that the Haunter was KO'ed.

"So you two," I said turning my attention to Dumb and Dumber. "You want to keep going? Otherwise you could make MY life a lot easier and just knock each other out."

Hank and Chet looked at each other, before Hank spoke up.

"Ugh, and we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kid and your dumb dog!"

"Umm dude, you do realize there are no actual dogs in this world we live in?" I said as I pointed at Scoot "That's an Eevee."

"Here's an idea!" Hank said his face lighting up "How about we run away?"

"That's brilliant!" Chet replied. "They should make you the boss round here."

"AHAHA!" I cackled earning me few shocked looks "You think after all this, I would take let you escape?"

"Umm..." Hank started sweating bullets "But aren't you meant to be the good guy?"

"You shouldn't stereotype." I shot back with a death glare.

"Okay okay! You win!" Chet said raising both hands up to show he surrendered "We'll knock ourselves out, just please don't hurt us!"

"Gee, thanks for the moral support you asshat!" Hank said.

"Just shut up and start punching me!" Chet retorted back.

I stood by leaning against a wall while I watched the two clowns throwing punches at each other's faces, with each hit making a satisfying resonating sound through the large room. Until after 5 minutes both of them collapsed.

Just to be sure, I checked to see both of them had swirly eyes. Satisfied I stepped past them.

"C'mon team, we've got an elevator waiting for us!"

A chorus of Pokémon sounds cheered behind me as I stepped in.

* * *

 **Uhhh, so looks like I ran out of time again to include an extra bit in the chapter. This Chapter was originally supposed to titled "Scoot the Eevee" but I didn't quite get round to putting in the part that would have made that name significant. All well, next time I guess.**

 **I aim to post the next chapter around Christmas or New Years, but given my track record looks like I can't promise that. It's getting so hard to write with everything else going on in real life. In case you don't see me until the next year, just want to say, Merry Christmas!**


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